Guest Post by Kayse Pratt

Hello, friends!! I’m Kayse, and I write over at Finding Hope about learning to recognize the hope of Christ in the middle of dishes, diapers and devotions. I’d love for you to come visit, especially if you’re a momma dealing with lots of the above. 😉 I’m so excited to be writing here today, happy to give Jenn some time off to enjoy her family! So thanks for letting me visit, and talk to you a little about rain, balance, and life as a mommy.

Last weekend it rained.  I love the rain.  To me it always brings with it cozy days inside, sitting with hot cocoa by the window, wrapped up in a blanket, watching the water drip down.  It’s peaceful, soothing, refreshing.

And while I wanted to sit and cuddle and enjoy the rain, my kiddo would have none of it.  She likes the rain too, but in a different, excited, bang-on-the-window-to-try-and-touch-it sort of way. 🙂

So I got up off the cozy couch, put down my {non-fat} hot cocoa, grabbed my camera and watched my daughter {and also made sure she didn’t bust the glass on the door}.

I let go of my plans so that I could encourage hers.

I’m finding that this is life as a mommy.  I’m a planner, I like things organized and scheduled.  My planner is full of to-do lists and places to go and things to accomplish.  I have a cleaning schedule and a meal-planning schedule and a blogging schedule.

And still, most days, I’m scrambling to get Jon’s laundry in before bed because he needs it the next morning.  I leave the dishes in the sink because I am just too tired.  I throw a frozen pizza in the oven for the same reason.  I forget to blog on Friday {oops}.

In my ideal world, I would always be ahead.  Ahead of the mess, ahead of the deadline, ahead of the game.

In my real world, I’m always playing catch-up.

Some days, this really gets me down.  Some days, I just feel like I’m faking it.  I have all these schedules and lists and I cannot even get half of them done.  The downstairs is {relatively} clean, but the upstairs is a disaster.  Emily is clean and dressed and cute, but I can’t remember the last time I brushed my teeth.

Today is one of those days.  My list is long and my energy is short.  I hear the sweet babbles coming from the crib and I know that in a few minutes my time will no longer be my own {is it ever, really?}.  I struggle between the urge to drop everything else to just play with my daughter, and the desire for one day, or even a few hours, kid-free to get my life in order.

But that’s not life.  Not real life anyways.  And I’m working to be better at balancing it all.  Real life includes the fact that Emily is changing every single day.  And while I might have plans and lists and schedules, she can’t be bound by them.  Not to say that I’ll be the parent who lets their kid run rampant {if you know me, you KNOW that won’t be the case!}, but just to say that some days {most days?} it’s ok to let go of my plan and embrace my daughter.

It’s also ok to ask for help, but that’s a topic for a different day. 🙂

It’s not raining today, but I know that as soon as I go grab my smiley baby from her bed, she will change my plans.  And that’s ok.  Because she is my real plan.  Or rather, God’s plan for me.  And I wouldn’t miss my moments with her for all of the lists and schedules in the world.  They can wait.

At least until she’s asleep again anyways.  Because let’s face it, the laundry still has to get done. 🙂